International Relations/Environment and World Politics

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Green politics is a body of political ideas informed by w:environmentalism aimed at developing a sustainable society. It is considered by its advocates to be an alternative to both left and right views and parties, although adherents to both views tend to view w:Greens as "on the other side". Certainly it is true that Green parties advocate measures that appear to conventional politicians different from those grouped into labour and w:capital by economic interests.

Some of these views include:

Because it lacks clear identification with powerful interest groups, and tends to appeal more to a world-view or w:mindset, Green politics tends to grow slowly but also not to easily lose ground to other views or parties over time. In w:developed nations Greens have typically stood at 3-12% of the vote for long periods of time without making breakthroughs, usually participating in government as a minority partner, or working at municipal or regional levels. Most Greens reject w:radical centrist politics though there is a strong overlap between that perspective and what is occasionally referred to as the "realist" wing of the Greens.

Basic statements of Green political values include the w:Four Pillars of the Green Party originally adopted by the w:European Greens, the w:Ten Key Values of the Global Greens adopted by most English-speaking Greens in the w:1990s, and the w:six core Green principles accepted in w:2001.

Greens often refer to w:productivism, w:consumerism and w:scientism as examples of "grey" views, which implies age, ashphalt and obsolete ideas of human social organization, including w:globalization of economic relations. Many Greens are important players in the w:anti-globalization movement. This involvement includes the full spectrum from w:street protesters to those building local alternatives to w:global economic monoculture.

Green politics is usually said to include the w:green anarchism, w:eco-anarchism, anti-nuclear and w:peace movements - although these often claim not to be aligned with any party. Some claim it also includes w:feminism, w:pacifism and the w:animal rights movements. Most Greens support special policy measures to empower women, especially mothers; to oppose war and de-escalate conflicts and stop proliferating technologies useful in conflict or likely to lead to conflict, and such unusual measures as w:Great Ape personhood to end w:ape genocide, which they see as akin to w:genocide of primitive human populations, e.g. w:Stone Age Amazon tribes.

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w:Category:Political ideology entry points